Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Updates Q4 Earnings Guidance

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.61-1.65 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.79. The company issued revenue guidance of $15.43-15.72 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $15.91 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $148.87 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle has a twelve month low of $111.18 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $416.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Oracle stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 189.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 0.7% of Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $25,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.